


Time

by kokokoriii



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dog dead :((, Iwaizumi is Oikawa's rock, M/M, Oikawa has an older sister in this, Pet Loss, Short One Shot, This lowkey had me tearing up aha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:28:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26456434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kokokoriii/pseuds/kokokoriii
Summary: Oikawa's childhood dog dies and Iwaizumi is there to comfort him.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	Time

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know how people do the long break lines :,( so I apologize for the couple "-" floating around

Oikawa wakes Iwaizumi up at three in the morning with a phone call. Actually, five phone calls. 

He almost doesn't pick up. Oikawa had called him at random times in the night before simply because he was bored but something inside of Iwaizumi urged him to answer the phone call and he was glad once he did. 

"What's going on?" 

Iwaizumi heard sniffles on the other end so he sat up, alerting his full attention to his cellphone. It took a moment for Oikawa to speak and his voice was shady when he finally opened his mouth, "I think Yoshi is dead." 

"What?"

Oikawa sobbed into the receiver and Iwaizumi knew enough that a phone call wasn't enough right then. He told Oikawa he would be over in fifteen and hurried to throw on a sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers. He left his parents a note on the kitchen table in case they woke up to his absence and practically ran to Oikawa's house. He was thankful that the front door was unlocked and let himself in, heading towards the sounds of Oikawa's muffled cries. 

He found him in the living room, clutching his cellphone and staring at the fallen akita inu. She was curled up on her favorite spot on the floor but by the looks of Oikawa's horror, she wasn't just sleeping. When Oikawa saw Iwaizumi, he nearly fell into his arms. He had to cover his mouth from letting out loud sobs and Iwaizumi could do nothing but rub his back until he calmed down. He sat Oikawa on the couch and made him face away from the dog. 

"What happened?"

Oikawa rubbed at his eyes, "I woke up to get a glass of water and when I walked past the living room, Yoshi just looked really still so I went to wake her up and she wasn't moving. I think I spent five minutes just shaking her until I realized." 

Iwaizumi held Oikawa's hand softly. They had had Yoshi since Oikawa was young and secretly, Iwaizumi knew her days were limited. She went deaf the past year and was starting to struggle to get up from the floor. She was such a sweet dog but was beginning to develop the grumpy-dog attitude and nipped at Iwaizumi because he walked too close to her food dish. But despite that, Yoshi was Oikawa's best friend. 

\- 

Oikawa's father was absent from his life. He had left when Oikawa was just a baby, so his sister knew him but Oikawa never did. And Oikawa's mom often worked long shifts at the hospital, leaving the kids alone. Asuka cared for her brother like a parent would. She made dinner, helped him take a bath, made him do his work, and even tucked him into bed. She would play board games with him or pretend to be pirates or take him to the park. Asuka even turned down going out with friends because she needed to be with Oikawa. So when she graduated high school and announced she was moving in with her boyfriend near their university, Oikawa freaked out. He had latched onto her leg and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. Even at the ripe age of 8, he knew that he wasn't sad that she was leaving. He was sad that he was going to be alone. 

Once she left, his mom noticed Oikawa was acting differently. He would walk around the house aimlessly or sit outside of Asuka's room. He would resist going on playdates with Iwaizumi and would often throw tantrums so bad his mom had to cancel. When Oikawa started having meltdowns at school to his teachers, his mom knew she needed to do something. She took him to a behaviorist and was told that he had a hole in his heart and needed something to fill it. He suggested getting a pet. 

That night, Oikawa's mom went through the long list of possible pets. She thought about a cat first. They were easy to take care of and could be sweet depending on the breed. But Oikawa was allergic to cats. She ruled out a goldfish, too boring, turtles, too boring, and birds, too loud. She considered hamsters, snakes, and lizards but shuddered at the idea of any to them escaping. At the end of her research, she decided on getting him a puppy. 

She worked with a woman who bred dogs and spent her monthly bonus on the dog and supplies. She met the woman after work where they exchanged the money and the puppy. 

The puppy was an akita inu female. She was a tan and white ball of fur and instantly curled into her fingers. Oikawa's mom drove home with the dog and placed her inside a box before entering the house. 

"Tooru!" She called, hearing tiny feet shuffle above her. Oikawa came running down the stairs and almost trampled his mom before he noticed she was holding something. She knelt down to his level and placed the box in front of him, smiling softly, "I have a surprise for you."

Oikawa looked at his mom with wide, excited eyes. He carefully lifted the lid of the box to peer inside and his face broke out into delight. Oikawa's mom hadn't seen him smile like that for months. She told him he could pick her up so he did, burying his face in her fur. Oikawa's mom swore she could see his void being filled just by holding the dog. 

"She's mine?" Oikawa asked. "I can't wait to tell Iwa-Chan!" 

"All yours," His mom said, ruffling his hair. Oikawa laughed at put the puppy on the ground. It stretched its tiny legs before sniffing around the living room. Oikawa followed it around, absolutely ecstatic. "What are you going to name her?"

Oikawa thought about his favorite video game and his favorite little green dinosaur and said, "Yoshi!" 

-

Yoshi loved Oikawa. The older she got, the more attached to him she got. She would follow him around the house and sit outside of the bathroom for him. She would even sleep at the end of his bed some nights. As the years passed, Yoshi remained. She would wait for Oikawa by the front door until he got home from school or volleyball and would cry until they went on their daily walk. Oikawa would hold her by her paws and dance around the kitchen and knew how much she loved belly rubs. Sometimes when she sees Oikawa come around the corner, her tail wags so hard it makes a thumping noise against the floor. 

When they're eighth graders, Iwaizumi and Oikawa take Yoshi to the park with the lake in the middle. They tie Yoshi against a tree and pass a volleyball to each other. Yoshi sleeps for the most of the trip but when her ears perk up, she tears away from the tree. Her lead snaps in half and Iwaizumi is the one who's shouting for her as she takes off through the park. Oikawa is panicking as they boys chase Yoshi through the park. 

Thankfully, the park is somewhat busy so patrons are able to tell the boys that the dog ran this way or that way. They get directed towards the lake and there she is - paddling around the water. 

"Yoshi! Come here!" Oikawa yells, patting his legs. 

"Yoshi! Yoshi!" Iwaizumi joins. 

When the dog decides her swim is over, she casually paddles towards the boys. She shakes water at them, her tail and ears pointed high, and Iwaizumi grabs her collar and makes a makeshift leash out of the broken one. Yoshi is incredibly happy with herself and Oikawa has his head in his hands. His mom was going to kill him for letting her in the water. But when he looked at her panting face and her wagging tail, he just sighed and scratched her wet fur. How could he stay mad at her?

-

But there were times when Oikawa got mad at her - at least for a little while. 

Some dogs destroyed things and Yoshi happened to be one of those dogs. The vet said it was because she was bored, which made sense since she only ruined things when Oikawa and his mom weren't home. 

Yoshi ripped any and all stuffed animals, pillows, couch cushions and even her own bed. She tore up Oikawa's clothes that he left lying on his floor and even chewed through his backpack in high school. Oikawa's mom caught in the act of biting on her passport, the television remote and shoes. It became a rule in the household not to leave anything lying around. Iwaizumi learned about this rule when his slippers had been destroyed one night when he slept over. 

Usually, Oikawa didn't care what Yoshi did. It was annoying to clean up sometimes but Yoshi had never ruined something important - that is, until his second year of high school. 

Besides volleyball, Oikawa loved photography. His mom had gotten him a camera for his birthday the year before and Oikawa realized he loved taking pictures. He would take pictures of everything - from flowers to Yoshi to friends. He would bring his camera everywhere and used the same SD card for the first year of his new hobby. He went out with Iwaizumi one night to practice portraits in the moonlight and never loved a photoset more. 

Iwaizumi had natural beauty. His skin sparkled under the starry sky and when he laughed at a joke Oikawa made, his smile illuminated the night. Iwaizumi spent hours modeling, feeling confident in himself, and Oikawa spent hours in awe. When he got home that night, he decided to upload the photos to his computer. He removed the SD card from the camera, placed it on the bedside table and ran to the bathroom. 

When he finished, Yoshi was in his room. He didn't think anything of it until he saw her mouth moving. "What did you just eat?" He said aloud, putting his legs on either side of the dog and forcing her mouth open. Inside was a chewed up, unusable black object, "No, no, no." 

Oikawa held his destroyed SD card in his hand and felt his world come crashing down. Not only had he lost all of his photography from the past year but he had lost his special Iwaizumi photoshoot. Oikawa screamed for his mom, tears pricking his eyes, and nearly pushed the dog out of his bedroom. 

"You stupid fucking dog!" He yelled, restraining himself from throwing his shoe at the dog, "Go away!"

Yoshi shuddered at the loud noise and her ears dropped as she cowered backwards. Oikawa's mom came rushing up the stairs and Yoshi hid behind her legs, "What's wrong, Tooru?"

"She ate my SD card!" He cried, "Everything is ruined!"

Oikawa's mom gasped and she scolded Yoshi herself, swatting her butt lightly and sending her to her bed. She tried to comfort Oikawa but was met with a door in the face as Oikawa collapsed onto his bed in sorrow. He felt a mix of emotions - anger, sadness and even regret. He rang up Iwaizumi and complained about what happened to him over FaceTime. 

"So?" Iwaizumi said nonchalantly. 

"What?"

"Are you going to stay mad at a dog forever?"

Oikawa blinked. Iwaizumi had a point. It really was his fault for leaving the SD card out where Yoshi could easily grab it. And she was a dog, she didn't know what she was doing. She didn't chew his SD card on purpose. Oikawa sighed and hung up the call, going to find his shameful dog. 

She was curled up on her bed still and the tip of her tail was twitching as Oikawa approached her. He sat down in front of her and ran his hands through her fur. The dog turned onto its side and Oikawa rubbed her belly with both of his hands, earning a full tail wag. "I'm sorry," Oikawa said to Yoshi, "I'm not mad at you anymore." She moved so her head was in his lap and looked up at Oikawa with big eyes, as if she was accepting his apology. 

-

Yoshi was the type of dog to be able to sense emotions. When Oikawa was happy, Yoshi was happy. When Oikawa was mad, Yoshi was mad. When Oikawa was upset, Yoshi was upset. 

When Oikawa cried at night because he was so damn stressed from school, volleyball and trying to have a social-life, Yoshi would jump up on his bed and snuggle under his arm until he stopped crying. She would lick away his tears and nudge his face until he assured her he was okay with a head scratch. 

So when Oikawa found Yoshi in her state, he could only cry. She was right in front of him but at the same time she was already at the rainbow bridge. Yoshi would never bark again. She would never scratch at Oikawa's closed bedroom door until he let her inside. Oikawa would never take her on another walk or play fetch with her in the backyard. If only he had known that giving her a hug last night would have been the last. 

Part of Oikawa wished Yoshi had been euthanized so he could have prepared himself and spent the day with her. But the other part of Oikawa was glad Yoshi went this way, peacefully in her sleep, because it was done and over with. 

Iwaizumi knew that the longer they stared at the dead dog, the more Oikawa would break. He told Oikawa to go to the car and went to wake up Oikawa's mom. 

"Hajime?"

"Sorry, Oba-san," Iwaizumi whispered. He explained the situation and told her that he was going to take Oikawa and Yoshi to the vet. She was too tired to fully comprehend what was going on, but trusted Iwaizumi to do whatever needed to be done. 

Iwaizumi found a blanket in the hallway and tossed it over Yoshi. He lifted the hefty dog up and gently placed her in the trunk of Oikawa's car. Oikawa had his eyes closed tightly as Iwaizumi slid into the driver's seat. Iwaizumi knew that night would one of the hardest nights of Oikawa's life. Iwaizumi was not a religious person but on the drive there, he prayed like he had never prayed before. He prayed that Yoshi was whole again and her mind was resorted to the young puppy who liked to jump into lakes and steal chicken off the counter. 

They spent another few hours at the vet. Oikawa (and Iwaizumi) said their goodbyes to Yoshi one last time and then left. Oikawa decided he would send his mom back in a few days to pick up her ash's - he couldn't bring himself to go inside that building ever again. 

In the early hours of the morning, Oikawa sat on the ground outside of Yoshi's favorite tree. He was panting a slab of stone he found on the street while Iwaizumi watched with support. 

"Everything is going to be okay," Iwaizumi said at one point, his hand on Oikawa's knee comfortingly. 

"I know," Came Oikawa's shallow voice, "Just not right now." 

Iwaizumi listened to Oikawa talk about Yoshi without crying for the first time all night. He said that Yoshi was up in the sky, happy and healthy, running around with all the other dogs that passed. He wished Yoshi was immortal - or at least able to live long enough until Oikawa died. Then they could have spent their afterlife together. He has a hole in his heart again, the same one from when he was little and his sister moved out but only this time he knows he isn't alone.

Iwaizumi decides that very moment that when Oikawa is healed and ready to let go of Yoshi and continue with life, he would get him a new dog. And when that dog died, he would get him another one. He would keep getting Oikawa dogs until Oikawa himself passed away because the thought of Oikawa being in this state of grief for any longer than necessary made Iwaizumi's heart throb. 

But nothing would replace Yoshi and Iwaizumi understood that only time could heal Oikawa's broken heart.


End file.
